Recently updated on February 21st, 2024 at 07:39 pm
Unlike English, Chinese characters contain thousands of glyphs and various chirography styles that have great differences in the overall structure and stroke details. Therefore, automatic multi-chirography style Chinese character image translation from some observed instances is a meaningful and challenging task. So, how can we deal with the challenges and translate Chinese character pictures into English with software?
First, let’s start from OCR app.
What is OCR (Optical Character Recognition)?
OCR is a technology to recognize text in images of scanned documents and photos. With OCR, you can convert painted text in images into editable, searchable, indexable, and storable document.
Top 3 OCR Apps for Chinese Character Image Translation
There are several types of OCR apps that have OCR capabilities. Some have full dictionary features, while others are solely OCR translation apps. Some are equipped with extras, such as flashcards that enable you to use the app as a study tool or audio-to-text translation.
The following is our list of 3 best Chinese character image translation APPs to help you translate Chinese texts in pictures into English with ultimate efficiency.
Google Translate
First, launch the app, then select the target language at the top right of the screen followed by pressing the camera button located at the bottom right. The bottom half of the screen will turn into a camera window. It’s not necessary to select the source language as this will be auto-detected.
Position the camera over some Chinese text then press the camera button at the bottom. The photo will be captured and after a few moments characters should become grouped together into words by a light grey background.
To translate a word, use your finger to highlight it, if it’s recognized then the Chinese character translation from image will be displayed above the camera window. Press the arrow to the right of the translated word to view a more detailed definition along with the Pinyin.
WeChat Translate
Another powerful tool for Chinese character image translation.
On the main screen of the app, there’s a plus sign on the upper right-hand corner, which is a menu of shortcuts that includes scanning QR codes.
But it’s not just QR codes that you can scan now. WeChat has updated the camera feature to include an OCR translation option, a major step up since the only Chinese character image translation capabilities it used to have were texts within chats and the “Moments” page.
💡 The best thing I like about WeChat Translate is you don’t have to download another app. The “Scan to translate” function is built-in.
It’s simply a breeze to translate Chinese to English if you’re a regular user of WeChat.
Youdao Fanyi
Youdao offers a range of Chinese character image translation capabilities, including Youdao Fanyi (Translate), a business and travel translation tool operating in 30 languages using “camera and speech translation.”
The 有道 Youdao Dictionary Pen uses optical character recognition to transfer Chinese or English words or sentences into the pen. Immediately, the pen will narrate the scanned language. It’s the perfect tool for Chinese character image translation. Youdao Dictionary Pen can read up to 15 Chinese characters per second – much faster than an electronic or paper dictionary.
It can read virtually anything on a firm, smooth surface, provided the text is smaller than the size of the scanning tip, including the following:
- Picture books and chapter books
- Typed documents
- Product labels
- Digital screens (eg, computer, tablets, smartphones)
- Neatly handwritten notes, cards, journal entries
However, it’s quite pricey compared to other two OCR translation APPs that are free of charge.
Youdao Dictionary Pen 2 is sold at $119 on Amazon.
Advantages and Disadvantages of OCR Translation APPs
OCR translation APPs are important tools not only for language professionals but also the common folks. Like any tool, you have to know how to use OCR APPs effectively and this starts with understanding their advantages and disadvantages.
What Are the Advantages of Using OCR?
- Fast: Provides almost instant translations.
- Scale: Capable of handling vast amounts of content very quickly.
- Flexible: One system is capable of translating content into multiple languages.
- Usability: Easy for language professionals and everyday users alike.
- Automation: Automating the first stage of translation makes the whole process faster and more affordable.
What Are the Disadvantages of Using OCR?
- Quality: The quality of human translators is significantly better than that of even the best OCR translation APP.
- Consistency: The complexity of the input language and the linguistic differences between the source and target languages have a significant impact on quality.
- Word-for-word output: Despite improvements, algorithms still produce outputs largely consisting of word-for-word translations.
- Grammar: Grammar remains a challenge for machine translation especially when it comes to languages with significantly different grammar systems.
- Context: Though AI technologies have dramatically improved contextual understanding, but the end results are far from matching human capabilities.
- Nuance: Algorithms struggle to determine and replicate the nuances of human language.
Professional Character Translation Services by Chinese Copywriter
Are you looking for accurate and error-free Chinese character image translation services? Though OCR translation APPs are faster and cheaper, you wouldn’t want to get inaccurate, incomprehensible, and potentially dangerous machine translations for important projects. With a seasoned team of Chinese characters translators and editors, We offer professional Chinese character image translation services at affordable rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can OCR help with translation?
OCR converts printed PDFs and images into texts in machine-readable formats and greatly improves the efficiency of translation software.
What are the best Chinese OCR translation software?
The following is a list of best OCR translation software to translate Chinese into English.
* Google Translate
* WeChat Translate
* Youdao Fanyi
What is the easiest way to translate a Chinese PDF into English?
The easiest way to translate a Chinese PDF into English is by using an OCR translation APP like Google Translate. However, if it’s for professional use, the best way is to hire a professional Chinese to English translator.
How do you translate Chinese characters from pictures into English?
There are several methods to translate Chinese characters from pictures into English. One method is to use OCR translation app, and another is to use native Chinese character translators.
Chinese Copywriter Team consists of talented linguists, project managers, localization engineers, and SEO experts. Since 2012, we have been providing translation, localization, and marketing services for various international businesses targeting the Chinese markets as well as Chinese businesses expanding their global reach.